Autumn Statement Brings Good News For Sector

AIM is delighted by today’s announcement in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement that the new museums and galleries tax relief will be expanded to include permanent exhibitions.

The new tax relief, which starts in April 2017, was originally only intended to be available for temporary and touring exhibitions.

However, AIM initiated a campaign to include permanent exhibitions in the relief, arguing that the majority of museums would not have been able to benefit from a scheme limited to temporary and touring exhibitions.

The campaign was given strong support by colleagues across the museum sector and we know that its success is down to the fact that the sector presented such a strong and united argument. AIM is very grateful to everyone in museums and support organisations who supported the campaign, writing to their MPs and responding to the consultation.

Image: Exhibition at Tullie House Museum and Art Gallery

The rates of relief will be set at 20% for non-touring exhibitions and 25% for touring exhibitions. The relief will be capped at £500,000 of qualifying expenditure per exhibition, meaning that museums will be able to claim up to a maximum of £80,000 of relief for a non-touring exhibition or £100,000 if it is toured (as with all the creative sector tax reliefs, relief is available on a maximum of 80% of qualifying expenditure).

The relief will be available from 1 April 2017 and will initially expire in 2022, although there will be scope for its extension.

The government plans to publish a response to the consultation shortly, which will contain more detailed information on the proposed definitions, while draft legislation will also be published for comment in December.

The Autumn Statement also included funding for cultural and heritage projects including a grant to restore Wentworth Woodhouse, a historic house in South Yorkshire.

For full details see: https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/autumn-statement-2016